First the technical, then the practical: A roller shade is a flat-hanging shade made with manufactured textiles which is raised and lowered by a rotating roll at the top. The roll at its core is usually a special made metal pipe. Affixed to that hollow shaft is a rectangle of fabric, which is then wrapped around until it is all rolled up. This roll is mounted at both ends to the window using brackets. Roller shades only have two brackets and have no center support. To span the largest gaps they are capable of, the metal pipe in the core has to be increased in diameter (ranging from 2” to 4”, typically).
What does that textbook definition of a roller shade mean to your space? It means a shade that gets the job done dependably. These shades are durable, efficient, effective, and simple in their design and operation. Roller shades’ hardware and mount system mean you only need to think about what qualities you want in a fabric. The fabric needs to fit your priorities for the space, so what priorities might you be thinking of?
Unlike blinds, roller shades are only ‘opened’ by raising them and only ‘closed’ by lowering them—there is no peeking through the slats. So if you want to see the view while cutting down the glare, the fabric must have openness. If you want total privacy at night while the lights are on, the fabric must have no openness, but you’ll have to raise the shade to get the daytime view. If you want total darkness in your space the shade must be opaque. It’s an up or down, on or off, type product. (Disparate features can be combined using a dual shade—two roller shades of differing fabrics mounted together in one window.)
Heat control is another priority roller shades can tackle. Most window coverings slow the air movement around windows and thus slow convection, but roller shades are specialists in radiant heat reduction. Heat travels different ways, including conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is what makes a tile floor feel cold to your bare feet. Convection is the heat that comes from a warm air vent. Radiant heat travels through space until it hits something: its heat from a distance. You can reflect that heat back out of the building. You can absorb that heat and convert it into warm air. You can let some of the heat through the shade directly onto your skin. Or, you can drop the temperature in your space over ten degrees in some cases.
Opaque fabrics block the view and all light, thus darkening the space. However, the range of translucent fabrics provide all sorts of results. Translucent can mean you see through the shade almost like thin sheers with no privacy. It can also mean you have no view at all, but light can glow through. Among the total privacy translucent shades there is also a range of refraction. Refraction can be described as the brightness of the fabric in the light of the sun. The shade can glow so bright that it lights up the ceiling, or it can heavily cut down on direct sunlight just gently illuminating in the background. Despite the light of refraction glowing through, the shade leaves you totally invisible to the outside.
A feature or a bug, you decide. Roller shades are sleek in appearance. They intentionally contribute simplicity to the design of a space. You can add all kinds of design features around the shade, and even change your style over time, or you can keep it simple.